DETROIT  Foreign substance, dirt or whatever, lefty Kenny Rogers is taking aim at a postseason pitching record that has been around for 101 years.

Sunday night, amid the distraction of an early-game controversy, Rogers pitched eight shutout innings, extending his postseason scoreless innings streak to 23, in the Tigers' 3-1 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of the World Series.

Only Milwaukee's Lew Burdette (24 scoreless innings) in 1957 and Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants (27, 1905) have longer streaks than Rogers, who shut down the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics in two previous playoff series.

Said Cardinals second baseman Aaron Miles: "Somebody said they thought they saw pine tar. Whether he got rid of it or he never had it in the first place, we don't know. His stuff was good all game."

When outfielder Preston Wilson was asked if he thought someone should look into Rogers, he responded:

"This is the World Series. Whatever you do, you should do on your own merit."

Rogers said the umpire reminded him to slow down between innings so that he doesn't have to stand in the cold as long.

"I'm older than most," Rogers said. "It's no big deal."

When asked again, Rogers said that it was a clump of dirt. He said he didn't know it was there, but when he did, "I saw it and wiped it off," Rogers said.

So, how can Rogers miss a clump of dirt? Rogers said that with the dirt and rosin mixing together, dirt can get on a player's hand.

There is a rule that says if a player discolors a baseball, he can be ejected. But Steve Palermo, the on-site umpire supervisor, said the umpires didn't believe Rogers was intentionally doctoring the baseball.

"Dirt is not a foreign substance," Palermo said.

When asked how umpires knew what the substance was, Palermo said it was observed as dirt by "highly trained umpires." He said there was no formal request to check Rogers and that the umpires' job in that situation is to remove doubt.

There's no doubt Rogers is redoing his reputation as a postseason pitcher. Coming into October, he had a lousy October resume. Now, he's on a history-making mission on the tails of Burdette and Mathewson.

Burdette pitched three complete-game wins and two shutouts in Milwaukee's 1957 World Series win vs. the Yankees. Mathewson pitched the Giants to a five-game World Series victory vs. the Philadelphia Athletics, allowing a combined 14 hits in three shutouts.

"I'm no Christy Mathewson, that's for sure," Rogers said. "I'd never put myself in a category like that."